Pirn Winding

Amount woven yesterday: 3.5"
Amount woven to date: 2 yards + 4"


Pirns are what are used on end feed shuttles. They differ from bobbins in that they are tapered. Also, instead of winding them back and forth, the weaver winds them a half inch at a time. On the left is what a correctly wound pirn should look like. To see a good illustration of how to wind pirns, go here.

One pirn is has been giving me a devil of a time. It jerks, it catches, it is not at all nice. It is incorrectly wound. Not terribly incorrectly. Just enough to drive me up a wall. I could, of course, just cut the yarn off the pirn and wind it again. But frugality won't let me. Sob.

Below the image of the correctly wound pirn is a close-up of an incorrectly wound pirn. The image is a bit fuzzy. I have taken and taken pictures to try to get one that will show what it looks like. My digital photography skills, which I thought had been improving, are being sorely tested. I have a lot to learn there as well! Anyway, though the picture is a bit fuzzy, I still think you can spot the problem area.

The problem area is right at the base of the black pirn. There is a little sliver of black where you can see through the wound yarn to the pirn itself. This should not be. It means that the yarn right there has loosened up a little bit. And then just above the sliver of black is a place where the yarn seems to recede a bit. At this point the layers are cutting through each other a bit. What then will happen when that shuttle is thrown is that the thread coming off the pirn will catch on the layers that are bad, trying to pull the yarn which has actually slipped underneath. So it catches and the yarn stops unwinding, and it stops unwinding very abruptly! And when this happens, it pulls at the selvedge it is coming from. So, not only do I have to get the yarn winding off again, but I have to reset the yarn at the selvedge. Very frustrating!

To the left is a picture of another pirn that gave me trouble for a little while. This picturet too is fuzzy, but what is visible is the yarn going askew at the point where it is coming off the pirn.

To wind the pirns, I use an electric bobbin winder and put the yarn through an adjustable tensioner to keep it at high tension. My winding skills have much improved, but clearly I have my "moments"! It does take practice to learn how to do it right. But, especially when weaving with fine threads, the effort involved is worth it. The pirns are big and hold a lot of yarn and the help improve selvedges.......when the yarn doesn't catch, that is!

Related Post: Shuttle/Pirn Problem